This past summer, my wife Jody and I went on a New England cruise. Also traveling aboard the ship was a large extended family celebrating a reunion. Members of the group were always easy to spot because they all wore matching t-shirts with their family name on them. In fact, they had a different colored shirt for each day of the cruise.
In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us exactly how to “dress” as members of God’s family - chosen ones, holy and beloved, and as members of our own family. He tells us to “put on” heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness. And, over all these, put on love.
My friends, today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Why does the Church give us this special day?
At Christmas, our focus is on the
birth of our Lord, Jesus - God becoming one of us. Today, the Church invites us to look at the manger scene once again and this time, reflect on
the way God came to us. Jesus came to us as part of a family.
Think about that for a moment, in all the ways God could have chosen to come to us, He came as part of a family.
The
way Jesus came to us must tell us something about the very nature of God’s love and how we are called to reflect that love in our own lives and in our own families.
The nature of God’s love is found in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. This is at the very heart of our Christian faith and life. And, it’s the very mystery of God in himself.
To put it simply, our God exists in a community of
perfect love. God, the Father, gives all that He has and all that He is to the Son. The Son, in return, loves the Father with all that He has and all that He is. The intensity of this love and mutual self-giving between the Father and the Son is so real, it exists as the Holy Spirit. (It’s important to remember the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have always existed together and they are all equal. Wherever one is, the other two must be.) My friends, love seeks to be shared and so, God, who is love, cannot exist in isolation.
And, by the grace of our Baptism, we are called to share this love with God and with our family as a witness to a society that seems to be, at times, openly hostile to our Catholic faith.
As you know, families come in all shapes and sizes. Each with their own joys and challenges.
Even the Holy Family had its challenges. Jesus was born homeless to a teen-age mother and an adopted father who was doing his best to understand what was happening. Shortly after Jesus was born, his family had to flee their country under the threat of execution by Herod. They lived as refugees in Egypt until Herod died. And, since Herod’s son became the new ruler of Judea, Joseph took his family to Galilee to establish the family home in Nazareth.
Too often, we mistakenly think God only relates to the
perfect family. I don’t know about you, but I have yet to meet that family!
For us, the Holy Family is as close as it gets. Through their outward and inward expressions of love, in obedience to God, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, serve as
the model for all families as a sign and image of the Most Holy Trinity - the mutual, self-giving love which reflects the glory of God.
This becomes our invitation to follow their example.
It’s within the family where one learns endurance and the joy of love, work, generous forgiveness and, above all, divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life. We are called to offer our life in love for God and each other. For this reason, the family is called the “domestic church”.
It’s not always easy putting the needs of others before your own, even within a family. But, our participation in love can be clearly found in the day-to-day routine of preparing meals, washing dishes, going to work or school, doing laundry, shoveling the driveway and, even changing diapers. These “little” things, when done with great love, become “holy”.
Husbands, wives, parents and children. Each are called to enter into a relationship with each other that is based on mutual, self-giving love. In fact, the word “family” is really an abbreviation. F-a-m-i-l-y stands for “
Forget
about
me,
I
love
you”.
This is a beautiful reminder of what family is meant to be. People giving themselves away to other people. That is where true happiness is found. Happiness is not found by pushing others out of the way to get what we want, it’s pushing ourselves out of the way and being in
loving service to each other.
My friends, it’s in this context that the end of our second reading must be read: “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands” is incomplete without the following line, “Husbands, love your wives”. Likewise, “children, obey your parents…” It is mutual respect and generous, self-giving love that is meant to define a marriage, parenthood and childhood. Unfortunately, many challenges arise when the mutual and self-giving aspects of love are confused or lost.
And, beyond our own families, we are part of a Church family that complements and completes our love for God and each other.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus means accepting the invitation to belong to
God's family and to live according to His way of life.
As we continue our celebration of the Christmas season and look forward to a new year, it’s a good time to ask ourselves:
- Are there things within our family that need adjustment or improvement?
- Is there a relationship in need of repair?
Let’s commit or recommit to our family by “putting on” heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness.
And, over all these, put on love. Amen.